Lena's post on trademarks, registering maarks, copyright, licensing & patents
I went to a CIM event last Monday in Brighton about ‘ How to Protect your Brand’. The speakers were two lawyers specialised in intellectual property. I took down some notes (if I’d known I were to post them, I would have put a bit more effort into it!) Anyway I hope they are helpful to you.
How to Protect your Brand
The speaker first started off by talking about intellectual property and how to protect it. He stressed that we can only protect the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
It is done by using a ™(trade mark) or a registered ® mark. In a reform in 1995, the word trade mark was replaced by the word brand, but are both used.
A ™ could be a sign, word, logo, colour, sound picture, smell, shape, 3D shape. For example, Coca Cola have registered the shape of their bottle, Mc Donald’s have registered the shape of their French fries box.
It should identify the business and should not conflict with other trade marks.
They can be:
1. Invented words such as Kodak, Reebok, etc.
2. Arbitrary words such as Apple for computers, Elephant for car insurance.
3. Suggestive words such as Pampers, Lastminute.com, Microsoft, etc.
4. Descriptive (that is not the best way to choose a trademark) such as Game, The Perfume Shop, Vision Express, etc.
5. Generic words which you cannot register such as Aspirin, Cornflakes, Hoover, Biro, Sellotape, etc.
He then talked about domain names for brands, ie the brand websites.
The second speaker talked about Copyright ©.
It can be applied to:
1. Literary works.
2. Dramatic and musical works.
3. Artistic works. They are given on a basis of the person’s life plus 70 years. So if the work is out of its copyright, it can be copied without illegal consequences.
4. Sound recordings and films.
5. Broadcastings.
6. Publications.
7. Databases as literary works. The EU introduced the Database as having copyright.
8. Moral rights. They are not technically a right but are also called right of attribution. (so long as you can prove the work is yours.)
9. The right to prevent derogatory treatment.
He then talked a little about licensing and patents.
If you have a registered product or company as a ™, and you do not trade with it for 5 years, it loses its registration.
The more you trade, the stronger your brand gets. He gave an example of a man in Russia who had registered the name Starbucks as a ™ because Starbucks were not operating there and did not have any near intention to.
Starbucks took legal action against the man and won the case because of the strength of their name and brand.
Lena
Can I thank Lena for this post, an excellent job
Peter
How to Protect your Brand
The speaker first started off by talking about intellectual property and how to protect it. He stressed that we can only protect the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
It is done by using a ™(trade mark) or a registered ® mark. In a reform in 1995, the word trade mark was replaced by the word brand, but are both used.
A ™ could be a sign, word, logo, colour, sound picture, smell, shape, 3D shape. For example, Coca Cola have registered the shape of their bottle, Mc Donald’s have registered the shape of their French fries box.
It should identify the business and should not conflict with other trade marks.
They can be:
1. Invented words such as Kodak, Reebok, etc.
2. Arbitrary words such as Apple for computers, Elephant for car insurance.
3. Suggestive words such as Pampers, Lastminute.com, Microsoft, etc.
4. Descriptive (that is not the best way to choose a trademark) such as Game, The Perfume Shop, Vision Express, etc.
5. Generic words which you cannot register such as Aspirin, Cornflakes, Hoover, Biro, Sellotape, etc.
He then talked about domain names for brands, ie the brand websites.
The second speaker talked about Copyright ©.
It can be applied to:
1. Literary works.
2. Dramatic and musical works.
3. Artistic works. They are given on a basis of the person’s life plus 70 years. So if the work is out of its copyright, it can be copied without illegal consequences.
4. Sound recordings and films.
5. Broadcastings.
6. Publications.
7. Databases as literary works. The EU introduced the Database as having copyright.
8. Moral rights. They are not technically a right but are also called right of attribution. (so long as you can prove the work is yours.)
9. The right to prevent derogatory treatment.
He then talked a little about licensing and patents.
If you have a registered product or company as a ™, and you do not trade with it for 5 years, it loses its registration.
The more you trade, the stronger your brand gets. He gave an example of a man in Russia who had registered the name Starbucks as a ™ because Starbucks were not operating there and did not have any near intention to.
Starbucks took legal action against the man and won the case because of the strength of their name and brand.
Lena
Can I thank Lena for this post, an excellent job
Peter
posted by A teacher returning to Geography Education at 12:36 pm
2 Comments:
"Generic words which you cannot register such as Aspirin, Cornflakes, Hoover, Biro, Sellotape, etc."
Aren't Hoover, Biro and Sellotape all brand names, surely you must be able to register these? Did you mean Vacuum Cleaner, ball point pen and sticky back plastic.
(If this sounds critical it's not meant to be, I just want to check.)
James,
I don't know about that, you would have to ask Lena. But thanks for the comment, feel free to be critical as much as you want, that is what this is for!
Pete
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